Thursday, December 24, 2009

My Christmas Gift to You

Merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, happy Kwanzaa, happy Yule, merry Generic December Holiday. My gift to you, dear pro-choice, pro-abortion readers, is an old school mix tape playlist. Some of the songs are ones I listen to as I drive to work, preparing to walk through the protesters. Others are ones I listen to when I get into a funk wondering if anyone thinks about Dr. Tiller anymore. And some of them are ones I jam out to when I'm feeling good because abortion is safe and legal and my fellow Abortioneers around the world just rock. Happy listening!

2009 Abortioneers Mix

Soulja Boy, Turn My Swag On--OK, so he's not terribly feminist. But when we wake up in the morning knowing that we have a long day ahead of us, and especially when we're psyching ourselves up to walk through protesters, we sure as hell "hop up out the bed, turn [our] swag on, take a look in the mirror, say 'What's up?"

Pat Benatar, Invincible--When we wonder if we're really making a difference, if we should really keep fighting, Pat says YES:

What are we waiting for ?

Won't anybody help us ? What are we waiting for ? We can't afford to be innocent Stand up and face the enemy. It's a do or die situation - we will be invincible. This shattered dream you cannot justify. We're gonna scream until we're satisfied. What are we running for ? We've got the right to be angry

Tracy Chapman, Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution--Sometimes, it "sounds like a whisper," but it's there and that's why we do what we do.

Big Country, In a Big Country--I never thought much of this song until I listened to the lyrics:

So take that look out of here, it doesn't fit you.

Because it's happened doesn't mean you've been discarded

Pull your head off the floor, come up screaming

Cry out for everything you ever might have wanted.

And now, it's an anthem for we determined, stubborn activists.

Ani Difranco, Hello, Birmingham--I am a firm believer that you can never feel weak when Ani's voice and lyrics are behind you. She remembered Dr. Tiller before he was even gone, and she reminds me of all the other heroes we lost before I was even an Abortioneer

Kanye West, Stronger--I've been working in abortion for longer than I ever planned on, and I have no plans to stop. The work we do does make us stronger, and every patient I see is stronger than she ever believed she was.

This is not a debate forum -- there are hundreds of other sites for that. This is a safe space for abortion care providers and one that respects the full spectrum of reproductive choices; comments that are not in that spirit will either wind up in the spam filter or languish in the moderation queue.